Someone PLEASE get this message to Mr. Federer

[ultradr]

Federer currently comes into the net only if it is unimportant points/situations.
Like when he is leading 40-15, or leading a set by 4-1 score etc.
And he fails lots of them, almost look like he is practicing them.

When pressure mounts or he is trailing in score, he still stays at the baseline more or less.

That's always his strategy. He is not ready to use net at crucial points.
Who knows? He might be practicing it until he gets confident with it...

 

[Aretium]

Federer currently comes into the net only if it is unimportant points/situations.
Like when he is leading 40-15, or leading a set by 4-1 score etc.
And he fails lots of them, almost look like he is practicing them.

When pressure mounts or he is trailing in score, he still stays at the baseline more or less.

That's always his strategy. He is not ready to use net at crucial points.
Who knows? He might be practicing it until he gets confident with it...

I disagree. Fed has come to the net at a lot of key points in the last 6 months. Federer needs to play more aggressive on break points, which starts from the service return.

 

[torpantennis]

I disagree. Fed has come to the net at a lot of key points in the last 6 months. Federer needs to play more aggressive on break points, which starts from the service return.

This is exactly what has changed, from the previous years. I guess it's the effect that Edberg's had on his mind!

 

[Chanwan]

I disagree. Fed has come to the net at a lot of key points in the last 6 months. Federer needs to play more aggressive on break points, which starts from the service return.

I agree with you. Don't know where ultra has been, if he hasn't seen Fed coming to the net on important points. He finished the match vs. Novak at the net, he broke him at the net one of the two times as well.

 

[torpantennis]

So essentially you're telling Federer to never come to the net against Djokovic. As others have said, the player usually decides to come forward BEFORE he hits the approach shot. Yes, there are times where after hitting a shot, you realize your opponent is going to be out of position and you come to the net after, but against Djokovic, how often do you think that will happen? Not very.

LOL, so true! I guess OP thinks that our 33yo should just stay back, against the younger/faster opponents. Most probably a Nole fan! :lol:

 

[BreakPoint]

First, I understand, I can't criticize, who are you, you can't talk unless you've won 17 Grand Slams. Heard the non-sense before and will again from those who can't defend their position, but can only criticize personally.

WILL SOMEONE GET THIS MESSAGE TO ROGER FEDERER SO I CAN STOP SCREAMING AT THE TELEVISION?

His aggressive net game is great, I love it. It brings life back into Tennis and wreaks havoc on his opponents. However as successful as he is, he can be much more if he would follow the simply rule of coming to the net;

ONLY COME FORWARD WHEN YOUR OPPONENT IS OUT OF POSITION!! To some they will not understand, but for us who served and volleyed during the 90's, you NEVER COME FORWARD, ESPECIALLY THESE DAYS, UNLESS YOUR OPPONENT IS IN A BAD POSITION.

If you go on YouTube right now, watch the highlights of the Federer/ Djokovich Semi's, every single time Fed got Djokovich out of position and came forward Fed got the point. Then comes the frustrating part, Fed hits directly to Djokoviches forehand or backhand while Djokovich is in good position, Fed foolishly comes forward and what happens? Fed gets passed, EVERY TIME.

We serve and volleyers know this, the highlights prove it, so please;

SOMEONE GET THIS MESSAGE TO FEDERER! If he would have followed that basic rule he would have won much easier.

Someone on this forum once said that Federer was a super talented front runner and wasn't the best at strategy, I think this may be true.

Are you sure you're a serve and volleyer? Because a real serve and volleyer comes in on everything, regardless of where his opponent is. Just watch old Edberg and Rafter matches. They came in behind just about every serve, regardless of where they hit their serves. The idea is to be constantly putting pressure on your opponent to have to make passing shot after passing shot. Sure, they will make some of them. But the odds are in favor of a good serve and volleyer in the long run.

 

[Deleted member 733170]

To me it's all about risk really. Charging the net ups the ante for both players and results in quicker points. It may look as though he is squandering points at times as he sometimes comes in after a less than perfect approach. However, it serves to mix the game up and prevents the like of Djokovic from finding a rhythm.

What was particularly impressive about the Djokovic match was how relentless Federer was in continuing to apply the pressure. Federer had Djokovic in a vice and he was never allowed to wriggle his way back into the match.

The contrast with the Simon match was interesting as it was much more a game of cat and mouse. They both did the same amount of running unlike in the prior match where Federer had Djokovic on the run. In the Simon match Federer didn't need to take the same level of risks to get the job done and was more than neck and neck from the baseline. I really hope we get to see an in form Federer Nadal match again some time next year, employing these more aggressive tactics.

 

[rjms]

what and how much more u guys expect from aging fedex let him enjoy the game

 

[abmk]

I agree with you. Don't know where ultra has been, if he hasn't seen Fed coming to the net on important points. He finished the match vs. Novak at the net, he broke him at the net one of the two times as well.

don't bother. ultra is in his own delusional world ... it was an imposter who saved breakpoint vs djokovic at the closing stages of wimbledon 2014 with a SnV on 2nd serve , it was an imposter coming to the net on important points vs djokovic in shanghai, an imposter who stole the 2nd set vs murray in the wimbledon 2012 final with finishing 2 points at the net in style by sneaking i , an imposter who saved MPs by SnVing vs mayer

an imposter who saved 3 of the 4 MPs vs verkek in paris 2003 by Snving

etc. etc ...

geddit ? :twisted:

 

[Chanwan]

don't bother. ultra is in his own delusional world ... it was an imposter who saved breakpoint vs djokovic at the closing stages of wimbledon 2014 with a SnV on 2nd serve , it was an imposter coming to the net on important points vs djokovic in shanghai, an imposter who stole the 2nd set vs murray in the wimbledon 2012 final with finishing 2 points at the net in style by sneaking i , an imposter who saved MPs by SnVing vs mayer

an imposter who saved 3 of the 4 MPs vs verkek in paris 2003 by Snving

etc. etc ...

geddit ? :twisted:

get it. imposter.

 

[Dedans Penthouse]

First, I understand, I can't criticize, who are you, you can't talk unless you've won 17 Grand Slams. Heard the non-sense before and will again from those who can't defend their position, but can only criticize personally.

WILL SOMEONE GET THIS MESSAGE TO ROGER FEDERER SO I CAN STOP SCREAMING AT THE TELEVISION?

His aggressive net game is great, I love it. It brings life back into Tennis and wreaks havoc on his opponents. However as successful as he is, he can be much more if he would follow the simply rule of coming to the net;

ONLY COME FORWARD WHEN YOUR OPPONENT IS OUT OF POSITION!! To some they will not understand, but for us who served and volleyed during the 90's, you NEVER COME FORWARD, ESPECIALLY THESE DAYS, UNLESS YOUR OPPONENT IS IN A BAD POSITION.
If you go on YouTube right now, watch the highlights of the Federer/ Djokovich Semi's, every single time Fed got Djokovich out of position and came forward Fed got the point. Then comes the frustrating part, Fed hits directly to Djokoviches forehand or backhand while Djokovich is in good position, Fed foolishly comes forward and what happens? Fed gets passed, EVERY TIME.
We serve and volleyers know this, the highlights prove it, so please;
SOMEONE GET THIS MESSAGE TO FEDERER! If he would have followed that basic rule he would have won much easier.
Someone on this forum once said that Federer was a super talented front runner and wasn't the best at strategy, I think this may be true.

.

Life's too short.


Continue screaming at a television set.


__________________

 

[Bendex]

First, I understand, I can't criticize, who are you, you can't talk unless you've won 17 Grand Slams. Heard the non-sense before and will again from those who can't defend their position, but can only criticize personally.

WILL SOMEONE GET THIS MESSAGE TO ROGER FEDERER SO I CAN STOP SCREAMING AT THE TELEVISION?

His aggressive net game is great, I love it. It brings life back into Tennis and wreaks havoc on his opponents. However as successful as he is, he can be much more if he would follow the simply rule of coming to the net;

ONLY COME FORWARD WHEN YOUR OPPONENT IS OUT OF POSITION!! To some they will not understand, but for us who served and volleyed during the 90's, you NEVER COME FORWARD, ESPECIALLY THESE DAYS, UNLESS YOUR OPPONENT IS IN A BAD POSITION.

If you go on YouTube right now, watch the highlights of the Federer/ Djokovich Semi's, every single time Fed got Djokovich out of position and came forward Fed got the point. Then comes the frustrating part, Fed hits directly to Djokoviches forehand or backhand while Djokovich is in good position, Fed foolishly comes forward and what happens? Fed gets passed, EVERY TIME.

We serve and volleyers know this, the highlights prove it, so please;

SOMEONE GET THIS MESSAGE TO FEDERER! If he would have followed that basic rule he would have won much easier.

Someone on this forum once said that Federer was a super talented front runner and wasn't the best at strategy, I think this may be true.

On most occasions Federer had committed to coming forward before he hit the ball. Sometimes the ball unintentionally fell short and propped up into Novak's hitting zone, which looked ugly for Fed, but in reality that only happened a relatively small number of times. The overall strategy disrupted Novak's game profoundly.

If you wait until you are sure that Novak will be off balance before coming forward, your opportunities will be limited, and you're going to end up in too many long rallies with the world's best baseliner.

 

[jstr]

He should also implement a two handed backhand service return

 

[tennis_badger]

obv you dont play tennis.
SV is attacking game, not defensive....nadal does what you describe quite well, but that's not SV, thats just finishing the point early.

anyway others have provide better explanation

 

[spinovic]

You can't analyze a style by picking certain points. Federer has made a decision to be more aggressive. He will lose some points, he will get passed, but the bigger picture is about imposing your game on the match and keeping your opponent under constant pressure. Sometimes the simple act of coming to net can force an error. It is also important to mix things up a bit. He doesn't want to become predictable in how/when he approaches.

 

[Byakuya]

I agree with the OP at the obvious volleying tactic and did get flustered watching those passing shots in the game myself. But at the same time, I'm only the average tennis spectator. I am not a professional tennis player nor a top 3 tennis player in the world nor am I part of Federer's army of fitness trainers, coaches and mentors guiding him.

With all that said, I know that all you said is right and but I will also assume that Team Federer obviously knows all this as well. So then why does he still bum rush the net?

Simple. Because the tradeoff is he's sacrificing that 30-40% loss of potential points for something more intangible instead. His net play threw Djokovic and Simon completely off his game and his aggressiveness played some mental weight on his opponents as well. Djokovic tried to retaliate obviously by making some great passing shots and even came up to volley himself, but not a moment did Federer waver. This is important. It screws with the opponent some more and demoralizes them. Federer's rally cry at the end of the match obviously reflects this.

Serve n volley is a dying tactic in the modern era and if used for a prolonged amount of time people won't be surprised or get thrown off by it anymore. So you use it as mental weapon not as the strategic weapon you mentioned which worked so well in pre 2002 open era.

 

[The_Order]

Fed can't S&V against Nadal unless playing on really low bouncing indoor HC.

Otherwise, Nadal kills him with his deadly passing shots. That's why he's been out of ideas on how to beat Rafa in majors. He knows S&V won't work and from the baseline Rafa is too good for him.

 

[robok9]

obv you dont play tennis.
SV is attacking game, not defensive....nadal does what you describe quite well, but that's not SV, thats just finishing the point early.

anyway others have provide better explanation

That about sums it up. Honestly, almost every player does what the OP is saying. That's why most players might have the stat of coming to the net probably 10 times in comparison to Federer's ~40. Of course some might say something like "Well Djokovic's 8/10 is better than Federer's 28/40," but honestly, this would not be a valid statement because there isn't really a stat that can truly show the effectiveness of rushing the net. All I know is that Federer instantly started playing better after developing this new strategy, and right now he is playing the best tennis in the entire ATP, and I don't think he's winning those points from his athleticism or baseline game. It's coming from his monster serving (much thanks to the new racquet) and aggressive net play. For that reason, Federer doesn't have to change anything major in his game right now.

 

[spinovic]

Two more points...

1) I think he gets some benefit of being one of the few, and probably the only top tier, player(s) who play this way. His opponents aren't getting any preparation for Fed's style from any other opponents.

2) He had to do it. He can no longer expect to grind with these guys from the baseline and beat them as he once could. Few have the combination of all-court skill set and serve to make this type of transition, IMO, but Federer did, so to me it was a no-brainer. For example, adopting a style like Federer is not an option for Ferrer. He doesn't have the skill set.

Murray possibly does. He would need to improve his second serve. But, more importantly, he'd have to overcome his habit of reverting back to his comfort zone of playing safe, defensive tennis. That has been a challenge for him in just trying to be more aggressive from the baseline. Attacking the net 40-50 times seems like a drastic change of mentality.

Djokovic has a more aggressive mindset, but would definitely need to improve his net game. He would seem closest to making such a transition to me and, in fact, I think he has moved a bit that way under Becker. His serve has improved and he seems more aggressive to me.

But, the serve is a huge difference. Federer has always had a much better serve than the other Big 4 members. I don't think one can overstate the importance of that in SERVE and volley tennis.